Y turnout for trolley systems



May 25, 1948. R. P. HANNA 2,442,002

Y TURNOUT FOR TROLLEY SYTEMS 7 Filed Dec. 21, 1944' 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 45 WITNESSES: u k INVEINTOR 4%- Ra /17000 P/rafi/m.

.U-W BY I I 'X WATTORN y 5, 1948. R. P. HANNA w 2,442,002

Y TURNOUT FOR TROLLEY SYSTEMS Filed Dec. 21, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTOR r Y May 25, 1948. R. P. HANNA 2,442,002

Y TURNOUT FOR TROLLEY SYSTEMS Filed Dec. 21, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 WITNESSES: INVENTOR 47M. 92 V 90 Ra mafia P Han/ m.

v BY g m ATTORN Y Pate'nteel May 25, 1948 Y TURNOUT FOR TROLLEY SYSTEMS Raymond 1. Hanna, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 21, 1944, Serial No. 569,178

8 Claims.

My invention relates, generally, to trolley conductor systems, and has reference in particular to rigid constructions for overhead trolley conductor systems.

Generally stated, it is an object of my invencombinations of right-hand and left-hand trolley frogs such as are commonly used at turnouts, instead of requiring special V or Y trolley frogs. Another object of my invention is to provide ;'for using difierent. combinations of right-hand :and left-hand trolley frogs for forming a, plurrality of different Y constructions by using a pair ;of.frogs one of which isright-hand and the other of which is left-hand, and one of which takes preferentially 1 other to the main runner.

. Yet another object of my invention is to proto the branch runner and the v'ide a-simplified preferential overhead Y trolley qconductor construction by using a right-hand 'ttrolley frog and left-hand trolley frog in paired relation with the main runners in the outer .gpathsof the branches of the Y and inclined slightly toward each other in a direction from the stem of the Y, one of said frogs having the plate thereof grooved to guide a current collecitor along themain runner, while the other is zgroovedto guide a current collector along the branch runner.

; .Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple and rigid Y construction which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install.

A further object of my invention is to provide ior using an adjustable compression member be- .tween the outer conductor sections of a Y intersection fcr facilitating installation and maintenance of the proper operating conditions of the construction in;a trolley conductor system.

- It is also an object of my invention to provide [a simplified rigid curved conductor section for overhead trolley construction which permits supporting the section with a'minimum of deformation of the curved section.

; Other objects will in part be obvious, and will i in part be described hereinafter.

According to my invention, a nomicturnout construction may be provided for overhead trolley bus conductor systems by using right-hand and. left-hand trolley frogs of the type usually used in turnouts, for forming a Y simple and eco construction. The trolley frogs are so positioned that the main runners are connected in the outside curve portions of the branches of the Y which are connected to a trolley crossing, and are inclined slightly toward each other. The branch runners are connected to rigid curved conductor sections forming the inside curve portions of the branches of the Y, and which are provided with pull-off means intermediate the ends connected adjacent the ends by tangential strain members. A rigid integral Y construction is provided by connecting the trolley frogs in spaced relation at each end'by insulating members, by connecting the rigid curved sections in spaced relation to the trolley crossing by means of insulating members attached to the pull-off means, connecting the inner and outer sections of each branch adjacent the ends, and by connecting the outer curved sections of the branches of the Y to each other by means of an adjustable insulating member which provides a closed force system and provides for distributing the stresses in the structureas a whole when it is installed.

For a 'more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention, reference may be made to the following detailed description which may be studied in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure Us a top plan view of a Y construction embodying the invention in one of its forms;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the rigid curved section taken along the line .IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of a left-hand trolley frog which may be used in a Y construction such as shown in Fig. 1, and which is grooved for taking to the curve;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of a left-hand trolley-frog which may be used in a Y construction such as shown in Fig. 1, and which is grooved for taking to the straight;

.Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken-along the line V-'-V ofFig. 3; Y

Fig. 6'is a sectional viewtaken along the line VIVI of Fig. l;- and i Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatical views of trolley conductor systems embodying the. inven-- tion, in different forms.

Referring to Fig. L the reference numeral l0 may denote, generally, a Y construction for trolley conductor systems having branch portions II and I2 intersecting at a common point with a stem portion I3, and disposed substangre es for the'best perating'l neuron .M.

ends by'in'sulatir'ig ineinbers"38',' sothatthe a runners are inclinedninwardly toward each other I g e e' lnbl t crelfiestribeds,, he 5 l vedis 'tion tt 3 l5. and ltiJmayghe integrat 'dfw t the )(fc'oncti nirb ,Qmnectin'g a t m" .endsytdlthfltfo StreSSesapPIied .th retmwb gi is i 3 tially symmetrically with respect to the stem portion. 7 V

The Y construction 10 may, for example, comprise ,a pair of rigid curved conductor sections 45 and I6, which form the inner curve portions 5 of the two curved branches H and [2. The outer curve conductor portionsy lot ,the two branches may; comprise curved metallic spacers l8 and 19 which extend outwardly from a trolley prise a substantially T-shaped'bar having a. horizontal flange 43 with a dependent'web 44, which may be provided with a beaded lower edge 45 for guiding a current collector. If desired, suitable a m r s ch as ,t sha ed coppe sh 46, jinaybe applied to the lower edge bijthbar to improve the vfea'rin'g' characteristics thereof.

crossing 29, and additional curved sections Z] 10 In order to provide a substantially rigid Y conand 22 which extend from the trolley crossing 20 toward the intersection and the stem -portion l3. Means such as the insnlatingnportionsl or; section insulators 24 may be provided ig ltoffiiigf a tion with the sections l5 andrgljor insulating 1- ;q the b M pa r of strain rods 4] and 48, which may be con-r I fiected'adjacen't the ends of the bar in tangential 1 relationby any suitable means such as the welds the conductors of oppcsitepolarity n In order to provide an intersection'between tlie curved branch sections ll and I2 and the ste m section l3 of the Y, means such as the trolley frogs 25 and n t ffi l nstead oi utfljzing so the pulls-off plate39, the curved sections may be- ,e itl ier y or Qllyv 'gi eg f {spec al (designs, as "heretofore have; found tnaeseextr mei in-v expensive and ,effective a Y coris triicti'on may ,be

' pgai eqibyu ng'g rer ntjc iiipmauons, or leithand; and right-Iran t" 'lleyfjfrogsjoflthe usual 25.

. design such; as -u's edim urnduts. jAccordingly, @in with the usual. designations, of trolley 'frdgs,

rid 5 epifesent, the

ecti "t rough'th Y main iru'nners" may he ser er 1' to 5 deubs'ta s in med ate th connect theouter ends of the curvedsections 15 and: 1'6 to 'the' "curved spacers adjusting the Y construction so ast equalize th e pssinsllzll"firqme i j f i' u atinelmembe ..ch eeimer e neeg ed to l t w r. ,dditio'na-l insulatingmembers gr e 3 I n "scribed' 'hreiiibefore. ex V ners are on the opposite sfd u struction without tending to'deform the predeter- '49. 'By connecting the insulating members 38 to rated W lt? istr s' itl T l n t l plied to t 'e cuivewetnauetsrt'a 713F335; 3 g us 'fi r ll fl lleyl evi e e ,l whatoperating-resultisiisir ring ,rseti ii f eferring" "to Fig. 'lj tli' u e'fr teem-sear as may denote, generall' nbiick' ldop forsaqtrolductors on the other.

51 street for making the return trip in the direction proceeding from left to right. For example the vehicle may 'pull past a turnout utilizing a pair of right-hand trolley frogs 12 grooved for taking to the curve, and into which it may back so that the current collectors are switched onto the conductors 14 and proceed in reverse through a crossing 15 with the trolley conductors 10 in a direction shown by the dotted arrows and into a turnout 18 of the Y design similar to that described in connection with Fig. 1 of the drawings. In this instance the trolley frog 19 may be alerthand trolley frog similar to that shown and described in connection with Fig. 4 of the drawings, and which is grooved for preferential taking to the straight or to the main runner. The trolley frog 80 may be a right-hand trolley frog grooved for taking to the curved or branch runner in a manner similar to that described in connection with the left-hand trolley frog shown in Fig. 3. By utilizing such an arrangement of trolley frogs, the vehicle need only back into the Y construction 18 and then proceed forward along the conductors 82 through a turnout utilizing left-hand trolley frogs 83 which need not be grooved preferentially since they are used in trailing operation only, whereupon it is transferred to the trolley conductor 10 for making the return trip.

Referring to Fig. 8, the reference numeral 85 denotes, generally, a modified form of turnback loop for effecting a transfer between the conductors 69 onone side of the street and the con- In this instance, the trolley bus proceeds in a forward direction through a turnout utilizing trolley frogs 86 which may be electrically operated since they are to be selective in operation, and over a crossing 81 into a Y construction 88. The right-hand trolley frog 90 may, in this instance, be grooved for taking to the straight or main runner, while the left-hand trolley frog 92 may be grooved for preferential taking to the curved or branch runner. The vehicle merely proceeds through the Y in the forward direction, then reverses and back along the conductors 94 and through a turnout utilizing trolley frogs 95 which may be left-hand frogs grooved for preferential taking to the straight or main runner, and onto the trolley conductors 10, whereupon it is in the position to make the return trip.

From the above description and the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that I have provided, in a simple and efiective manner, for producing a practical and economical overhead trolley conductor construction. Instead of. requiring special designs of trolley frogs in each one of a number of different applications, leftand right-hand trolley frogs which are wellknown designs, both fixed and electrically operated, and both preferentially grooved and otherwise such as are used in the usual turnouts .or intersections, may be used with extremely satisfactory results. By utilizing a. closed box construction in the design of the turnout, and connecting the rigid curved sections intermediate their ends to the trolley crossing, a simple and inexpensive design is provided which is extremely rigid and yet light in weight. The use of an adjustable insulating member for closing the box construction at the branch end of the Y permits a ready equalization of the different strains encountered in installing such a construction, and provides for aligning it for the maximum operating conditions.

Since certain changes may be made in the above-described construction, and different embodimen-ts may be provided without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all of the matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be considered as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim'as my invention:

1. A substantially symmetrical Y construction for an overhead trolley conductor system comprising, a pair of substantially straight conductor sections forming the stem, a pair of branch conductor sections intersecting from the right side, another pair of branch conductor sections intersecting from the left side, and a pair of trolley frogs connecting the straight and branch conductor sections having main runners extending between the straight conductor sections and the outer conductors of the pairs of branch conductor sections, and oppositely disposed branch runners angularlyrelated to the main runners and positioned in line with the inner conductors .of each of the pairs of branch conductor sections.

2(A substantially symmetrical Y turnout for a trolley conductor system comprising, a pair of substantially rigid pairs of spaced apart curved conductor sections intersecting with each other substantially symmetrically about a central axis, and a pair of turnout trolley frogs, one left-hand and the other right-hand, positioned at the intersectionshaving substantially straight main runners in alignment with the outer sections of the pairs of curved conductor sections and inclined slightly inwardly of the central axis, and oppositely disposed branch runners angularly related therewith in alignment with the inner conductor sections of the pairs of curved conductor sections.

3. A symmetrical Y construction for a trolley conductor system comprising, a pair of substantially straight stem conductor sections positioned in spaced relation, a pair of spaced branch conductor sections intersecting with the straight conductor Sections from the right, another pair of spaced branch conductor sections intersecting with the straight conductor sections from the left, and a pair of dissimilar trolley frogs positioned at the intersections between the straight and branch conductor sections comprising one right-hand frog and one left-hand frog each having a main runner positioned between one of the straight conductor sections and the outer conductor section of a branch pair and inclined inwardly about 3 degrees from the line of the straight conductor section, said trolley frogs having oppositely disposed right-hand and lefthand branch runners'respectively, angularly related to the main runners and positioned in alignment with the inner intersecting branch conductor sections.

4. Ina preferential Y turnout for changing the direction of a vehicle in a trolley conductor system, a pair of conductor sections forming a stem of the Y, two pairs of angularly related lefthand and right-hand branch conductors substantially symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the stem and intersecting at common left-hand and right-hand points with the lefthand and right-hand stem conductor sections respectively, a trolley frog positioned at the righthand intersection with the stem having a main runner positioned between th stem and the outer one of the left-hand branch conductors and a right-hand bran-ch runner positioned between the stem and the inner one of theright-hand branch conductors, and a trolley frog positioned entrance at the leflmhan'd .intersectionhavihgiazmainsrurl metrically th reof, "and .a'.;pairf'of dissimilar'troljl ley frogs comprising one right-rhand and ton-efilefthand 'frog 'having main and branch runnersgpov sitioned at the intersections withitheimain runthe;crossing,.means including a pairrsbf -rig'id' 7 7 0121a money crossing,ltsubstantiallykrigidlcurved mnnerpzmeanslconnecting jthe. :main. runners stop 7 curved conductor esectionsiconne'cted .to the curvedz oonductor sections in spaced relationito 3 the rfree-=ends :of the-:rigid curved conductor sec-Vv ners'between the stem:sections and the-router 7 sections of'the' branch conductor inclined ninwar'dly on the'orde'r of '1.5:d'egrees from thestem sections, and oppositely disposed branch runners in line with the inner'branch-'conductorrsections,

'6. A preferential Y turnoutifora trolley'conductor system comprising, twopairsmfrbranch conductor sections :intersecting substantially with a common stem conductorsectiom each 20f said pairs including innerand outer branchisect-ions, a trolley frog-positioned .atthe intersection with one of the stem sections-having a plate with a substantially straightirunner extending between the stemsection and the-outer-conductor section of one branch pair at an angle toithe stem'section in the direction of the .outer :conductor section and having 'an .angularly "related branch runner in alignment with 'the:inner"-conductor section of the other pair, and-another trolley frog positioned :at the: intersection :with the other stem section vhaving'ra plate with a substantiallystraight main runner extending between the stem section*andthe-outer conductor section of the otherpair at an angletorthe stem section inthe direction of said outer conductor and an angularly related branchmunner aligned with the inner conductor of said one pain-tone ofsaid trolley frogs having a groove in'theplate for preferentially guiding a current collector from the stern section onto the branchrunn'er} and the other having agroove for preferentially guiding a' current collector along the "main: runner.

trolley conductor system comprising, -a pairyof dissimilar trolley frogs having main runners-with oppositely disposed right-hand and left-hand branch runners, insulating means positioning the trolley frogs-with the main-runners inclinedtto- Ward'leach other on'therorder-of 3 todegrees and" the branch runners on the outer.- sideithere- '7. A substantially rigid'Y- intersection 101' :a

- brainch runners to .iiorm portions of :thealoranch sections of :the *Y :and having. pull-.offxmeans intermediate :the cends ;convex side sconnectell adjacent one :ends :of ithe. sections by' tangentialsstrain members, insulating meansnon-r Heating theapulleofifi means :in spaced relation-21:0 V

the trolley mossing; curved conductor .ssections connected touthe' trolley crjossing at-ione fend,

sulati-ng means connecting the other aends zofthe' tions, and adjustable insulating. means iconnect-' ingsaid other-ends of the-curved conductor sec-,1 tions'tozeach other,

:18. fihe :combination with two pairs "ofrtrolley conductors :i-or supplying :electri'cal :energy'to' trolley :buses traveling lin'zopposite directions, of l a v'turnout comprising,;a-;tlegreestumoutzfrom one :pair of :CDndllCtOISlih-FOI'MBidilfflcfiifll'l, .a :degree ".tu'rnout :from the other pair 0f conductors and :on the same side'ithereoferbutinxtheyopposite direction, a 45 adegreeizintersection between the second turnout. and the-first p'air L'OfJCOIIdLICUOlIS,

' and a 9.0 rdegree :havingiintersecting branchsis pairs of sconductorsfnligne'cl with the ;turn"outs with so ipai-n of dissimilar .JtrOlleyLfrogs at them;- t-ersection :ha-ving main :runners :substantiallyiin. linewith :tlre -LOI'11IET conductors 301 83,011 branch section, and oppositely 'Ifi'SPCSEd left-h-aridtand rightehand' branch runners incalignme'nt with theinn'er conductors011-eaclfnbranch;respectively.- 

